Lehighton native Dave Warner has unique perspective on Ohio State-Oregon football championship game

Dave Warner

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, MATTHEW MITCHELL PHOTOGRAPHY

Dave Warner, a Lehighton High School grad, is a Michigan State assistant coach.

Dave Warner, a Lehighton High School grad, is a Michigan State assistant coach. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, MATTHEW MITCHELL PHOTOGRAPHY)

Of The Morning Call

Lehighton's Dave Warner has unique perspective on college playoff final

How different might things be, Dave Warner wonders, had Michigan State scored a late first-half touchdown, one that would've given the Spartans a two-touchdown cushion against Ohio State in their Big Ten Conference showdown on Nov. 8 in East Lansing.

Hey, even a field goal would've been nice.

Instead, Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger was wide left on a 39-yard attempt. A mere 11 seconds later, the game was tied on a 79-yard J.T. Barrett touchdown bomb to Michael Thomas and Ohio State was on its way to a 49-37 victory and ultimately, a berth in Monday night's inaugural College Football Playoff championship game.

That loss was one of just two for the Spartans, who were ranked No. 8 in the CFP's ranking prior to the loss to Ohio State. The other came two months earlier to the Buckeyes' Monday night opponent, Oregon, in a game that Michigan State led by nine with just over 20 minutes to play before losing 36-27.

"I guess," said Warner, a Lehighton native and a member of the Spartans coaching staff for the past eight seasons, "if you're going to have only two losses in a season, to have them to the two teams in the championship game says something about your team."

Their status as the only team in the country to play both finalists had Michigan State players and coaches in high demand this week from media outlets. Head coach Mark Dantonio spent 45 minutes of his season-ending conference call Monday giving his perspective on both teams to the national print media, and he will be in Dallas this weekend making the rounds of the many network radio and TV outlets covering the game.

To Warner, MSU's co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach, Monday's game comes down to which team can best control the other's quarterback.

"The key to either team winning is how they affect the opposing quarterback, and we didn't do that well in either game," Warner said. "Both those offenses are driven by the quarterback; they both have a ton of talent otherwise, but the quarterback is the key for both teams, and both guys [Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Barrett] had big games and made big plays against us."

Mariota, this season's Heisman Trophy winner, threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in that Sept. 6 game in Eugene. One third-quarter play still haunts Warner and the Spartans: Facing third-and-10 from his 41-yard line, Mariota eluded a sack attempt and shoveled a pass to running back Royce Freeman, who ran 17 yards for a first down. Five plays later Mariota threw a 34-yard touchdown pass, the first of three straight Oregon touchdowns that gave the Ducks the win.

"Third-and-long, he should've been sacked, and the tide changed right there," said Warner, who ranked eighth on Syracuse's career passing yards list when he graduated in 1982.

Barrett, a freshman who stepped in when incumbent Braxton Miller was lost for the season during preseason camp, threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns while running for 86 yards and two scores in Ohio State's win over the Spartans.

"He was right on every pass, every run, and really made the difference," Warner said.

But because of an injury suffered against Michigan, Barrett won't be playing Monday night; instead, sophomore Cardale Jones, who has thrown for 500 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception in wins over Wisconsin (59-0) and Alabama (42-35), will start. The Buckeyes are averaging 51 points and 547.5 yards in his two starts.

"It's unbelievable what they've done," Warner said of the Buckeyes' quarterback situation.

Ohio State's semifinal victory over Alabama and appearance in the championship game has helped restore some prestige to the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten is 5-4 this postseason, including Michigan State's Cotton Bowl win over Baylor in a game it trailed by 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime wins by Wisconsin and Penn State.

"Over the years the Big Ten has been picked apart," Warner admitted. "To have Ohio State beat Alabama and play for the national championship I think reflects well on the conference as a whole. I certainly hope [the Big Ten's success] in the bowls improves our reputation, but that's for the media to talk about."

Warner was a three-sport MVP (football, basketball, baseball) at Lehighton, and was selected for the 1978 Big 33 all-star high school football game. He attended football camps at Penn State and admitted that playing for Joe Paterno "was probably somewhat of a goal for me" but said the Nittany Lions just weren't interested.

"My mom is probably still upset in her grave over that; she always rooted against Penn State after that," Warner said with a laugh.

Warner welcomes the opportunity coaching in the Big Ten grants him to return home occasionally, and he is Michigan State's recruiter in eastern Pennsylvania. "My dad [Glenn] and brother [Bob] still live in Lehighton, and it's nice to be able to get back there when I can and keep up with my roots," he said.

As a senior at Syracuse, Warner was named the team's MVP (over future NFL back Joe Morris), leading the Orange to an Independence Bowl win. He immediately began his coaching career at his alma mater as a grad assistant for two seasons while trying out for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

He has put down roots in East Lansing following a decade in which he coached at six schools including Bucknell (1997). After taking a year off in 2005, Warner joined Dantonio's staff at Cincinnati as quarterbacks coach, then followed him to Michigan State when Dantonio replaced John Smith in 2007.

The two first worked together at Kansas, where they were assistants on Glen Mason's staff from 1991 to 1994.

"I jumped around a lot, not always for the right reasons, and hooking up with coach Dantonio has been a great ride," said Warner, who oversaw an offense with Jim Bollman this year that set school records for scoring average (43.0), total offense (500.8 yards a game) and rushing yards (235.2 yards a game). "He's the best guy I ever worked for. I can't imagine a better situation as far as being an assistant coach."

A finalist for the Broyles Award this year as the nation's top assistant (the award went to Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman), Warner admits he'd listen if a head coaching opportunity came his way, but added he hasn't pursued any openings.

"I think those opportunities arrive naturally," he said. But at 54, Warner, who has two children, also realizes "the window is starting to close a little bit," adding that he's comfortable working with Dantonio in his current situation.

"It would have to be the right job for me to leave here," Warner said.